Frank Frazetta Sr.: My son's 'gone haywire'

Friday

Mar 26, 2010 at 12:01 AMMar 26, 2010 at 8:14 AM

World-renowned artist Frank Frazetta Sr. spoke publicly for the first time since his family feud went public in December 2009 — and he's mad. Mad at the son who's charged with trying to steal $20 million worth of his paintings — his life's work. Frank Sr. said he never gave Frank Frazetta Jr. permission to take his paintings.

HOWARD FRANK

World-renowned artist Frank Frazetta Sr. spoke publicly for the first time since his family feud went public in December 2009 — and he's mad.

Mad at the son who's charged with trying to steal $20 million worth of his paintings — his life's work. Frank Sr. said he never gave Frank Frazetta Jr. permission to take his paintings.

In a exclusive interview with the Pocono Record, Frank Sr. talked Tuesday from his home in Boca Grande, an island off the southwest coast of Florida. Despite claims to the contrary, he was lucid and feisty — just what you'd expect from an 82-year-old Italian grandfather from Brooklyn.

And Frank Sr. got personal.

"My son is an alien," he said. "There's no telling what he'll do. He's been like that for, I don't know, how many years. We played baseball in the old days. He always chose the opposite side from me."

He spoke freely, in an unguarded manner. But not a previous stroke nor his thick New York City accent could conceal his anger over the entire affair.

Frank Frazetta Sr. is one of the world's best known fantasy artists — his artwork has adorned record albums, movie posters, novels and comic books. His style and sword-and-sorcery themes make his work instantly recognizable.

And until recently he's called the Poconos his home, living on a Marshalls Creek estate that includes a museum of the artist's work and a home owned by his oldest son and his family.

Alfonso Frank Frazetta, known as Frank Jr., was arrested in December after police discovered he'd allegedly broken into the family museum using a backhoe and removed about 90 works of art painted by his father.

Frank Jr., wearing a ski mask at the time of his arrest, said he had his father's permission to protect the art from other family members. Frank Jr. has three siblings: Bill Frazetta of Stroudsburg, owner of Frazetta's Fantasy Costumes in East Stroudsburg, and Heidi Grabin and Holly Frazetta of Florida. At 52, Frank Jr. is the eldest, and has been feuding with his three siblings since their mother died in 2009.

Despite Frank Jr.'s claims that his father gave the go-ahead to secure the paintings, prosecutors have said that decisions regarding the artwork were the legal responsibility of Frank Jr.'s other three siblings exclusively.

According to family attorneys, the paintings belong to a corporation called Frazetta Properties LLC, of which Bill Frazetta and his two sisters share sole management. The LLC is owned by Frank Sr., and was formed for estate planning purposes.

At the heart of the criminal case against Frank Jr. is whether his father ever gave his son the OK to secure the artwork by any means necessary, as Frank Jr. claimed.

"None whatsoever. I certainly didn't. Absolutely not. That's just a lie that's been passed around," Frank Sr. about the question of permission.

And when the artist was asked if he ever told a Marshalls Creek notary he wanted Frank Jr. to protect his paintings because his other kids were trying to steal from him, as Frank Jr. claimed, Frank Sr. said, "Oh God. Oh my God. No."

The break-in at the museum happened just a few days after Frank Sr. left Pennsylvania to stay at his Florida home in early December 2009. Frank Sr. reacted with disgust to the museum break-in.

"Right through the door. He broke it. My God. As soon as he thought I was gone, he crashed the place," he said.

Frank Sr. said he didn't understand why his son thought he had permission to take his paintings. But he doesn't think Frank Jr. was acting in his best interests, as the son has claimed.

"No, absolutely not. I don't know what the hell he was doing," Frank Sr. said.

Frank Jr. and his wife, Lori Frazetta, have claimed Frank Sr. was being controlled by the other three siblings, and held against his will in Florida.

Frank Sr. denied the accusation.

"I'm in my own home," he said. "I'm the only one who lives here. Yes, absolutely I'm under my own free will. My daughters don't tell me what to do. I'm a man of my own word."

Frank Jr. awaits trial in Monroe County Court on charges of burglary, theft by unlawful taking and criminal trespass. But with his son's fate in the balance, Frank Sr. only wishes for one thing: "I would like to see them all shut up and be pals like they once were."

Frank Jr. is free on $50,000 bail with the stipulation that he not discuss the case or any of the family feud with his father. But if the senior Frazetta could say one thing to his son, what would it be?

"I'd send a cease and desist. He's got one of my paintings. No name, a pretty girl running on a sandy beach. He took it from the house. It really was unfinished," Frank Sr. said.

Frank Sr. spends his days going to ball games, enjoying his surroundings and spending time with his family. "I like it here. It's beautiful," he said.

And he still paints — he's got a bunch of paintings he started but never finished. But he also reads. And he's become aware of many of the accusations Frank Jr.'s made against his children. He'd like to straighten that out.

"Don't you believe anything he tells you. He's full of beans. He wants to run the museum by himself. He wants the whole thing to himself. What does he think — I'm dead? He's really gone, he's gone haywire," Frank Sr. said.

He also believes the feud has left a blotch on his reputation as an artist.

"As a matter of fact, I do. I really do. My daughters are both upset. I can't even face it. I don't know what the heck is going on. It's insane. Nothing more nothing less," he said.

In response, Lori Frazetta, wife of Frank Frazetta Jr. said, "We are confident the truth will be revealed, and we are looking forward to the safe return of Frank Sr., back to Pa. soon."

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